Buttojjt



HARVEY il ft 57 r. anni .f

"ERT, OF .FLDBJL ARK, QEV YORK.

wat. nauseas.

polie-ation filed March a9,

To allie/710m. it may concern.'

Be it known that l, Hnnvnr'l. MUMMERT, a citizen oi' the United States, residing at -Floral Park, in the county oi Nassau, and Stato of New York, have invented certain new and useful'improvements in Buttons, oi' which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to buttons and has reference more particularly to buttons for wearing apparel.

vAs at present niade buttons for Wearing apparel either' break or pull o. Thisis particularly true ii the garments upon which the buttons are used are washed or laundried by machine. ironing machines break the buttons and washing machines, such as wringers, pull thein oli". in ironing, the contact between the iron and thebutton is sufficient to break the button and in drying7 the entry of the button betweenthe rolls of a clothes M is sulhcient to either tear the garment or pull 'the button oit. Metal buttons, glass buttons, bone buttons, composition buttons and in fact all character of buttons have been proposed. 'in no instance, however, has a material or combination of material been proposed. which would orercorne the objectionable -features above pointed out.

It is realized that rubber alone and rub- -ber and metal in combination have been used in the manufacture of buttons. Buttons thus characterized are not used nor in-`A tended to be used in connection with wash garments and more particularly the garments of children. Rubber buttons itis true can be used with good results in connection with metal bound or rigid button holes.

...They cannot however be used with goed ren sults in connection with the ordinary button hole. ln the iirst place rubber alone is entirely too elastic to hold in button holes oi" the non-rigid type and too -soit to admit of its attachment to a garment by sewing. Combined metal' and rubber buttons although strong, lack flexibility and are intended to be used primarily in connection with garter clasps and the like.

The button of the present. invention is distinguished from the buttons above mentioned by its inherent resiliency and strength. A combination of rubber and fabric is used. Both such materials arejinherently iiexible and in conibinationprovide a button especially adapted to garment wherein non-rigid button holes are ce vided. The fabric 1s embedded in the peeilcation of Letters atent.

- suitable means.

. Patented June i?,

ber and the button apertured to receive the'A fastening means. lf desired, the button head in the vicinity of the apertures maybe enlarged to provide a shank. A button thus formed can be fastened garment in the usual manner by sewing (the fabric being 5 is an enlarged cross sectional View A an inverted plan View of the butustrated in 5.

illustration, rubber and fabric are used in combination in the formation of the button head which is designated as l0. The shank, designated as ll, although shown iii-- tegrally formed upon the underneathface of the head l0, may be attached to it byY any Rubber is used in the-:tormation of the head portion because of' its inherent flexibility and resiliency, the-flexibility being relied upon to admit o its distortion and the resillcnoy relied upon to `insure the return of the head to its original position or orrn. It is not intended that the head i0 should be stretched or compressed to pass through the button hole. For ordinary use the button possesses suiiicient rigidity to button and unbutton in the usual manner. lt is however suciently pliable and resilient to pass through the button .hole without injury to either should the button or the garment in which the button hole is formed be suddenly pulled or jerked.

s embodiment of the invention selecte' Within the but/ton 'head thread Aholed-1.2 are formed, or it desired, the button may be sewed` on by machine end the t eads carried througnthe button without rstforming the thread holes 12. For 'ordinary use, howe'aer, it is preferred that thread holes be dei.

:ab loneliness to prevent the threads in and of itselfrlacks suiiicient i from ulling through. The-threads, due to their 'neness, bite into andcut the rubber.

ferred) is Veither fastened to or embedded in Iyhe button head in the vicinity of the thread holes 12 since it is at this point or rather these points that reinforcement Vis most needed. It'will be noted (see Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive) that the thread holes 12 pass through both'the rubber and the fabric and that the latter when embedded in the head portion l() isremoved from view. Itis not essentialhoweyer, that the reinforcingfab ric -13 be thus embedded since it is entirely practical to fasten. it upon either outside face of the head. What is most important is that the attaching means is carried through or at least to the fabric, as in this manner'only can the required strength be obtained. v

' In embedding the fabric in the button head it (the fabric strip 13) is laid between two layers of rubber of a size preferably somewhat larger than the fabric strip. The

edges of the layers of rubber thus'overhang or extend beyond the fabric upon allsides. The layers of rubber (see Fig. 4) are desig natedas 14 andv 15 respectively. IBetween the layer of rubber 15 and the fabric 13 a wad of rubber 16, upon the sealing of the layersof rubber together, distends the layer 15 and in the finished button provides what I have hereinbefore designated the shank.

The sealing of the layers of rubber together is accomplished by vulcani'zation. In vulcanizing the rubber or layers 14 and 15 and the wad 16 are heated in the usual manner until the melted rubber or molecules thereof enter the pores of the fabric strip 13. This having been done the rubber is.

allowed t0 cool, congeal and dry. By eX- tending the edges of the layers of rubber 14 and 15 beyond the fabric strip 13 the layers of rubber during the vulcanizing process are brought together to provide at the edge of the button an even strong seal. The thread holes are 4formed in the button after it is made. i

In the modification illustratedA in Figs. 5 and 6 the reinforcing strip is embedded inthe head although for a portion of its length extended without the confines of the rubber. The head portion of the modified button is designated as 18. and its reinforcing fabric as 19. The latter, as indicated, comprises separate strips, each of which is extended centrally without the head to provide tabs 2O for the attachment of the button by sewing the tabs to the garment, rather than by carrying the threads through apertures formed in the button A button characterized as herein disclosed, is especially suited to garment 4use and more especially to use in connection with the garments of children. When thus used there is but slight possibility of the buttons pulling off or breaking due to the resiliency 'of the button. The button is buttoned or In manufacture the buttons may be madeA individually or in series. Ifmade in series the individual buttons can be stamped or punched.

While I have described my invention in detail in its present preferred embodiment, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art after understanding my invention, that various changes and modifications may be made 4therein without departing from the' spirit I aim in the appendedor scope thereof. plaims to cover all such modifications and changes.

What is claimed is: y

1. A button comprising a resilient head portion having means attached to it to reinforce it without i 4npairing its resiliency.

2..-A button comprising a resilient 'head portion having a means embedded therein to reinforce it without impairing its resiliency.

r3. A button comprising a. resilient head portion having apertures formed therein together with means attached to the button head to reinforce it in the vicinityl of said apertures.

4. A button comprising a resilient head portion having apertures formed therein together with a fabric strip cemented to the button head to reinforce it without impairing its resiliency, the apertures formed 4in the head being extended through the fabric.

5. lA fiexiblebutton comprising a strip of fabric and a plurality of layers of resilient material, the strip of fabric being disposed between and being somewhat smaller than the layers of resilient material whereby the overhanging edges of the latter may be vulcanized.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HARVEY C. MUMMERT.

Witnesses:

WM. E. VALK, Jr., SAMUEL T. PAYNE. 

